REPORT #629 March 2003
DOWNSTREAM INVESTORS WONDER WHO WILL PAY WHEN THEIR LIVES ARE LOST AND INVESTMENTS WIPED
OUT BY CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHALILLO DAM BY THE PUP GOVERNMENT?

Produced by the Belize
Development Trust

nattydread,

I hate to be the one to tell you, but this is not a NEW government, it is the SAME
government with a new batch of promises.... will they keep them? I can only hope they fail
on Chalillo as overwhelmingly as they failed on political reform and creating the new jobs,
houses, etc., etc., as they had outlined in their '97 Manifesto. How long have you lived in
Belize?

Interestingly enough, there has never been even a hint of an open and transparent Public
Hearing about the Chalillo Dam in which the concerns voiced by HUNDREDS of BELIZEANS from
BOTH PARTIES have been addressed, so I'm certain that most people here in the country are
sadly misinformed about the consequences of the dam. There are cheaper, less
destructive alternatives to supplying our energy needs than building this dam. It will NOT
reduce the possibility of floods as they state, and will probably make flooding even more
destructive as has proved true in many other countries with dams.

I hope you will keep in mind that this isn't just a simple matter of sleazy
corruption/regulation like ripping off the Department of Education for many thousands of
dollars in phony scholarships, or putting our country's good name on ships that are not
seaworthy or are used for illegal purposes.... this dam will actually destroy PRICELESS
natural and cultural resources that are IRREPLACEABLE.... just as the Barrier Reef is
irreplaceable....they can never be replaced no matter how many billions of dollars someone
could try to spend to "restore" the river and ecosystem. Don't you think the people of
Belize deserve to KEEP their priceless resources instead of GIVING THEM AWAY to a FOREIGN
OWNED MULTINATIONALCORPORATION that is THEN going to SELL US THE ENERGY AT TWICE THE PROFIT
THEY SELL TO THEIR CANADIAN PEOPLE? Do you realize if the dam breaks, their contract says
they can IMMEDIATELY sell it BACK to BELIZE for $1, and have absolutely NO LIABILITY
WHATSOEVER for any lives lost or any property destroyed? YOU may not be impacted by anything
involving the dam, but my livelihood has already been diminished by Mollejon, will be further
diminished by Chalillo, and my life and everything I own will be wiped out when the dam
breaks. All of Cristo Rey Village, San Ignacio, Santa Familia and maybe even Frank Redmond
will be wiped out. And break it will, because they have falsified the geology reports, are
building it in a "fault zone" that can even be seen with the naked eye, and are planning to
use a FOREIGN (CHINESE) COMPANY to build it, WITH A KNOWN RECORD OF CORRUPTION and BUILDING
UNSAFE DAMS. And it only has a projected lifetime of 50 years AT BEST.... we will destroy
this irreplaceable heritage for the sake of 50 years of profit for a foreign
corporation?!?!?!?

Believe me, THIS is the kind of project any GOOD government should be PROTECTING us
AGAINST!!